


The Proposal

by citrinesunset



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Bondage, Casual Sex, M/M, Possibly Unrequited Love, Propositions, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:47:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25643017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/citrinesunset/pseuds/citrinesunset
Summary: Arthur has a policy against mixing business and pleasure, but it isn't one he follows very well. He hooks up with Saito while planning the Fischer job, even as he tries to forget what he almost had with Cobb. When the job is over, he's prepared to move on. But neither Saito nor Cobb have forgotten him.
Relationships: Arthur/Dom Cobb, Arthur/Saito (Inception)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12
Collections: Inception Big Bang 2020





	The Proposal

**Author's Note:**

> Ideare created a lovely [banner and cover](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25646392) for this fic!

Saito's intentions were clear long before he stood behind Arthur and started rubbing his shoulders. Really, a late-night invitation to come up to his hotel room to discuss the job? Arthur wasn't naive. Or, for that matter, uninformed. He'd done his research on Saito. He knew about Saito's mistress…and about the male escorts he saw while traveling.

"You know," Arthur said, not taking his eyes off the papers spread out in front of him on the glass table, "I have a policy against mixing sex and business."

Saito removed his hands from his shoulders, but slowly. "I apologize. I believed you understood what I had in mind."

"I never said I didn't."

He looked over his shoulder at Saito. Saito's eyes widened in curiosity. Arthur was pleased to think he managed to catch him off guard.

"And yet, you accepted my invitation."

"I never said it was a policy I'm good at following."

Really, it was a policy he'd rarely been forced to follow. It wasn't like he had an abundance of options. What was hard, after a while in the business, was chatting up locals and trusting them enough to let them into his hotel room. He wasn't paranoid, just cautious (how did the saying go? It wasn't paranoia if they really were out to get you?). At least he knew Saito wasn't a spy sent by Cobol. At least he didn't have to lie about what he was doing in Paris.

He considered being brutally honest and telling Saito the truth: that he wouldn't have come at all if he believed Saito truly meant to talk business. Sex was messy, but not as messy as the deal Saito had with Cobb. Arthur wasn't going to sell Cobb out by admitting to the doubts he had about Cobb's soundness of mind. He wasn't going to admit how uneasy he was about taking this job. His professional boundaries were stronger than his personal ones (though, if he was honest with himself, wanting to protect Cobb was personal, too).

Arthur leaned back in his chair. "So, what? You figured you'd seduce me?"

Saito raised his eyebrows. "I didn't think I would have to."

Right. It'd probably been a while since Saito had to work very hard for anything, at least outside of the boardroom.

"Then what did you have in mind?"

"I thought I would get on my knees and treat myself to the pleasure of sucking your cock."

Arthur kept his tone cool, but his cock was starting to get hard. "And after that?"

"After that, we'll see."

Saito took a step closer. He touched one of the arms of Arthur's chair and swiveled it outward from the table. Arthur let him. He spread his thighs as Saito got down to his knees on the plush carpet. He sucked in his breath as Saito knelt between his thighs and reached for his belt.

Saito freed Arthur's cock and balls from his boxer briefs, handling them gently as though they were priceless jewels. His hands were soft and uncalloused. And then he took Arthur's cock in his mouth.

Arthur closed his eyes. He couldn’t tell if he was surprised or not. By the seduction, perhaps, but not by the fact that Saito was the sort of man sophisticated enough to appreciate another man's body. There was no doubt that Saito had done this before, and the way he worshipped Arthur's cock felt more appreciative and selfish than passive. Arthur felt like a delicacy laid out for him.

Arthur found that it suited him.

* * *

After that, they spent two or three nights a week together, depending on how busy Arthur was collecting intel and running point with the other members of the team. They always met in Saito's room—never Arthur's. Arthur could forgive the inconvenience of traveling the three blocks to the hotel where Saito had booked a suite. No one else was staying in the same hotel as Saito, which meant less risk of being caught.

The first time Arthur spent the entire night in Saito's room, he slept fitfully. He worried that Cobb might try to contact him for some reason, even though that seldom happened anymore. Their late-night conversations and work sessions had tapered off even before this job. The more Mal showed up in Cobb's dreams, the more he'd retreated from Arthur.

Keeping his arrangement with Saito a secret was an unspoken rule. Saito hadn't asked it of him, but Arthur assumed, at least at first, that their interest in privacy was mutual. There was a reason Saito enjoyed the company of escorts, whose careers depended on discretion. But when he thought about it, he couldn't imagine a reason Saito would care if the team knew. He was paying them to commit a crime on his behalf. An affair was petty by comparison.

Arthur had to accept that really, _he_ was the one who wanted to keep it a secret. He made a point to never leave or arrive at the warehouse with Saito. During their planning sessions, he acknowledged Saito neither more nor less than he used to.

One night, about a week into their arrangement, Saito produced a set of soft black ropes from a silky bag in his luggage.

"Which of us did you want to see tied up?" Arthur asked.

"Both options have their appeal."

Arthur touched the ropes, pressing the cord between his fingers. "You'd really let me tie you up?" The thought appealed to him.

Saito raised his eyebrows. "I have already put my faith in you and your colleagues."

That faith surprised him, somewhat. It was a necessary quality for shared dreaming. You had to trust someone to let them take you into a dream. Arthur wanted to say that work and sex were two different things, but then again, maybe it all came down to personality.

"How good are you at knots?" Saito asked.

As a matter of fact, Arthur was very good. All the same, he let Saito demonstrate on him. He held out his wrists and watched as Saito bound them. He took in Saito's instructions. Arthur was good at knots, but new to tying up a person.

Once Saito was satisfied with Arthur's knowledge, he stripped to his tight black boxer briefs and lay on the bed. He smelled clean and freshly-anointed with expensive aftershave. Arthur, who had taken off his shoes and shirt, unwound one of the lengths of rope.

The headboard had wooden planks with gaps large enough for the rope to pass through. Arthur looped it around the middle. He bound Saito's wrists with care, but tight enough that Saito wouldn't be disappointed.

They'd fucked before. Saito delighted in Arthur's flexibility. He enjoyed folding Arthur's long legs back so that his knees were by his head. One night, Saito stood nude in front of the large window and braced his hands on the glass, and Arthur fucked him from behind. He spent the whole time wondering if anyone could see them from across the street.

This was another new experience, in more ways than one. Arthur stripped the rest of the way and straddled Saito's hips. It took a surprising amount of strength to ride him like that, but even so, he was able to appreciate the sight of Saito bound to the bed underneath him. As always, he was silent, but he arched his back and pulled the rope taut.

Later that week, Arthur let Saito use the ropes on him. Saito tied him spread-eagle and face-down on the bed. It was less vivid, somehow, and he found himself remembering instead what it had felt like to wrap the rope around Saito's wrists. What it had been like to watch him surrender himself.

* * *

Arthur had just dozed off when the sound of two phones vibrating simultaneously woke him. As he reached for his phone, he was aware of Saito reaching for his on the opposite nightstand. He already had a feeling, and when Arthur saw the news, he knew Saito had just gotten the same notification.

Maurice Fischer had just died.

He was curious about Saito's sources. Maybe later, if he had a chance, he'd ask how Saito managed to get the news as quickly as he did. He was impressed.

For now, he just said, "I guess it's time."

The urgency of the situation made him forget about discretion, for once. Saito called his driver while Arthur dressed, and Arthur rode to the warehouse in Saito's car, wearing the clothes he'd worn the day before.

He was strangely disappointed that this time in Paris was about to come to a close. He didn't allow himself to dwell on why.

* * *

Arthur was double-checking their inventory for the final time when Cobb approached him. Everyone else had already left for the airport. Arthur was responsible for bringing the PASIV and their stash of Somnacin.

"Listen, Arthur…" Cobb began. "I don't want to pry, but…."

Arthur raised his eyebrows. "But you're going to?"

"Before we do this, I just want to make sure there aren't any complications I should be aware of between you and Saito."

Arthur started to object, and Cobb gave him a wounded look.

"You arrived together. It's pretty obvious, don't you think? I've been wondering for weeks now, but I didn't want to say anything because it's your business. I just want to make sure everything's okay before we go under."

Arthur wanted to point out that he'd been concerned about Cobb for months. If Cobb was entitled to secrets, wasn't he entitled to some of his own?

But the job took precedence.

"Everything's fine. Saito seems confident about the plan."

"And what about you? Are you confident?"

Arthur almost pointed out that it'd been a while since Cobb listened to his judgment. Instead, he just said, "It's too late not to be confident."

Cobb looked like he wanted to say more, and Arthur was silent to give him a chance.

The moment passed. Cobb asked, "What can I help carry?"

If Arthur thought there was any blame to pass around, he would have blamed himself as much as Cobb for what happened between them. In retrospect, it'd been too soon after Mal. Or maybe it had only happened _because_ of Mal, because Cobb was looking for some sort of connection after what happened. There was too much left unsaid to know for sure. Arthur had told himself at the time that he didn't care, but in retrospect, maybe he did. That was on him.

And perhaps he felt guilty. Mal had been his friend, too.

If Cobb was jealous about him and Saito, he had enough sense not to say so. But Arthur couldn't help but search his eyes for signs of it.

Much later, when Ariadne told him Cobb and Saito were stuck in Limbo, Arthur wasn't sure which man he grieved over more.

* * *

It was almost unnerving how life went on after the Fischer job. A feat that monumental, it felt like people should know about it. But the success of the job meant no one ever knowing what they did.

Things were different, of course, because Cobb was home now. But it wasn't like it was before, because Mal was still gone. That was partly why Arthur put off answering Cobb's invitation to visit him. The other reasons, he didn't want to think about. Arthur felt stupid for missing him.

Arthur kept working, chasing down jobs within his network.

He didn't expect to hear from Saito again after the Fischer job was done. After six months of no word, he had more than accepted it. He'd even managed to half convince himself it was for the best.

He was in Montreal doing intel for a job when the note arrived for him at the front desk. The handwriting was familiar.

_Drinks at seven?_ it asked. It gave the name of a nearby restaurant a few blocks away.

When Arthur arrived, he found Saito sitting in a corner booth, waiting for him.

He'd already ordered them drinks—gin served neat with a slice of lime for himself and a Scotch for Arthur.

"I don't know if I should ask how you knew I was in town," Arthur said as he slid into the booth.

Saito smiled. "Would you believe it was coincidence? I have offices in Montreal. I come here a few times a few times a year. But I'm sure you already know that. I happened to see you." He cocked his head. "You seem surprised. Perhaps I misjudged."

"Your judgment is fine. But yes, I am surprised."

Saito's mouth twitched in what might have been a smile. He lifted his glass to his lips and took a sip.

"I have an apartment nearby. Would you like to join me there?"

There was no question that he would. They finished their drinks and left together.

Saito's apartment building was deceptively modest from the outside. Inside, there was a marble floor and a security guard in the lobby.

The apartment itself was sparsely furnished and had a staged look about it, as though it had never truly been lived in. Arthur had learned about this place when doing research on Saito, but had never seen it. When they'd done the job on Saito, they never considered his Montreal apartment to be the right location for a dream. It was just a footnote. A practical asset for a traveling business man.

As he sat on the bed with Saito kneeling between his legs, Arthur's mind wandered. He wondered if Saito had brought other men back here.

Then Saito wrapped his lips around his cock, and Arthur's thoughts dispersed like clouds.

He stayed there that night. Saito had turned off the bedside lamp, casting the room in darkness, but Arthur tried to make out the details of the painting on the wall across from the bed. It was a Francis Bacon, and Arthur suspected it was an original.

"You know," Saito said, "I don't use this apartment as much as I would like. I only stay here when I'm in Montreal for business. Seems a shame to have it sit empty. If you want, you could stay here. When you want to."

Arthur swallowed. "I think the Canadian government would kick me out eventually."

"If you need a visa, that won't be a problem."

Of course it wasn't. Not for Saito.

It was a generous offer—except that it wasn't. He had no illusions that Saito was inviting him to stay here out of generosity. Arthur realized that the details of this arrangement they had could no longer remain unspoken.

"I know we haven't talked much about whatever it is that we're doing, but just to be clear, I'm not for sale and I'm not particularly interested in being anyone's kept man."

"Is that what you believe I want from you? I thought you knew everything about me."

"I'm not a mind reader, Mr. Saito."

"Then I will be clear about my intentions. Yes, I offer this to you in the hope that we can spend more time together when I am in town. Beyond that, I have no expectations."

"I'll have to give that some thought."

"Of course," Saito said, though his tone sounded surprised, as though he had always gotten what he wanted before. "I will give you my number. Call me when you've decided."

* * *

Arthur could hear the children playing as soon as he stepped out of his rental car, but he couldn’t see them. They must have been in the backyard, tucked safely behind the tall wooden fence.

He'd seen them a couple times during Cobb's exile, when he visited the States and dropped off presents and news. It was the least he could do.

Cobb was on the front porch. He looked different—more himself—in jeans and a faded t-shirt. He smiled as Arthur got out of the car, and he looked relaxed for the first time that Arthur could remember. Well-rested.

Arthur barely made it inside the house before the kids swamped him with hugs and questions, so he didn't have a chance to ask Cobb the things he was wondering—how he was really doing, whether he was still dreaming. All those questions were forgotten in the midst of lunch preparations and small talk.

That evening, Arthur stood out back on the porch. He'd forgotten how nice sunsets could be in suburban California. He held a glass of iced tea, and the sweating glass covered his hand in cold condensation.

The kids had long since gone inside, so the only sound was the chirping and flittering of the insects that came out at dusk. Behind him, Arthur heard the screen door slide open. The footsteps on the wooden slats were heavier than the kids'.

Cobb put a hand on his back. Arthur tried to keep his breathing even so he didn't betray himself.

"I don't think I ever said I was sorry. For how things happened."

"There's nothing to apologize for," Arthur said, though he wasn't sure if that was a lie. "It was just one of those things. I didn't have any expectations."

_You were grieving_ , he wanted to say. _I wanted to comfort you._

"I'd like to try again."

Arthur swallowed. "Do you?"

"I know you think it was just a momentary impulse. But I did enjoy it. I do care about you, Arthur."

"You have your life back."

"And you can't be a part of that? You were before."

Before, he'd been friends with him and Mal and the idea of complicating that with sex hadn't occurred to him.

"Yeah, but there's a difference between dropping in occasionally and…whatever it is you're talking about. You're worse than—" He stopped himself, but realized it was too late. Besides, it was better to have full disclosure. "I saw Saito when I was in Montreal."

There was a pause. "I can't say I blame you."

"He offered to let me stay in his apartment there."

"What, like live there?"

"I mean, not all the time, obviously. Just when I want. So he can see me when he's in town. Don't worry; I know when someone is trying to buy me."

That was a lie, perhaps. He wasn't sure Saito was _trying_ to buy him, though perhaps the end result was the same.

Cobb was leaning on the railing. Arthur looked down at their hands, which were almost touching.

"Do you really want to try again? Now?"

Cobb kissed the corner of his jaw. His stubble rubbed against Arthur's skin.

"I'm not proposing marriage. I'm not asking for a commitment. If you want to take Saito up on his offer, too, I'm okay with that. Sometimes you just have to see what happens."

Arthur had never been good at following his own rules. After the kids were in bed that night, he crept down the hall to Cobb's bedroom, where he was sitting in bed with his laptop. He swallowed his fear of making another mistake and crawled into bed beside him.

* * *

He had to leave in the morning, which was for the best. There was no regret or awkwardness in the air this time, but all the same, Arthur's instincts made him welcome a swift exit. He didn't like to feel like he was putting down roots too quickly.

Then again, Cobb had a point. It wasn't like a marriage proposal.

He drove his rental car to LAX. He was headed for the UK, where he had a lead on a new job.  
When he arrived at the airport, he discovered that his flight was delayed. He bought a newspaper and settled in to read it while he waited, but he found himself preoccupied. Too much time to think, and too few distractions to prevent himself from acting.

He took out his phone and brought up Saito's number.


End file.
